Head to head: Mormon dogmas not for America

Elva Martin, 64, is a retired Anderson minister and freelance writer. Her work has been published in Decision, Home Life, the State Magazine and The Sun News. She coordinates the Anderson Prayer Task Force and serves on the PraySC Prayer Team, the Presidential Prayer Team and the Baghdad Prayer Patrol. She also is president of the Upstate South Carolina American Christian Writers Chapter.

The political drug of choice for president among a growing number of conservative leaders appears to be Mitt Romney. The behind-closed-doors "high" is: "He's the only one with enough money to beat Hillary."

If Mr. Romney should make it to the White House, I can see two suitcases clinging to his legs. One suitcase shouts "Money." The other, in six-point type, whispers "Mormon."

The money suitcase, when you open it, is pretty impressive, even without the campaign funds raised or donated from Mr. Romney's personal fortune. According to an Associated Press article by Steve LeBlanc, Mr. Romney's net worth is estimated at up to $250 million.

According to Mr. Romney's Web site, he first gained national recognition for his role in turning around the financial crisis of the 2002 Winter Olympics. In his three-year role as president and CEO of the Salt Lake Committee, he purportedly erased a $379 million operating deficit for the group.

In l984 Mr. Romney founded Bain Capital, one of the nation's most successful venture capital and investment companies and reputedly helped guide hundreds of companies such as Staples, Domino's and Sports Authority, on a successful course.

As governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007, we are told, he presided over a dramatic reversal of state fortunes and a period of economic expansion.

But as with all drugs of choice, there's the downside. Mr. Romney's carrying another suitcase: Mormonism. But that won't matter, right? He can still be a money-smart, conservative, workhorse president, no matter the core religious beliefs in his heart. After all, he's not campaigning for U. S. Pastor, only president.

In case we need a strong prayer from the White House, such as the one Washington prayed at Valley Forge or Lincoln on April 20, l863, or FDR on the eve of D-Day (and as we might desperately need in case of nuclear attack from the dozen or so nations that are living for the day they can destroy us), what are some of the core beliefs of Mr. Romney's faith?

To find out, I checked out the Web site (www.utlm.org) of Sandra Tanner, a great-great-granddaughter of Brigham Young, the Mormon who led his people to Utah after the death of Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism.

She and her late husband, Jerald, both born, raised and married in the Mormon faith, left in l959 after finding many doctrines not compatible with the Bible, as well as contradictions amid the Mormon teachings.

In 1964 they started a nonprofit organization, Utah Lighthouse Ministry, in Salt Lake City as an outreach ministry to people struggling with issues surrounding Mormonism — issues such as heartbroken parents whose children have converted to Mormonism and they can't come to their weddings.

According to Ms. Tanner, Mormons claim the Bible one of their holy texts but actually consider three Mormon books produced by founder Joseph Smith more reliable scripture: "The Book of Mormon," "Doctrine and Covenants," and "Pearl of Great Price."

Ms. Tanner says converts are swarming into the Mormon church, knowing little about its doctrines — converted by its family-oriented programs, its emphasis on everyone being "saved" to some level of heaven and the doing of good deeds to become worthy to live with God.

Mormon doctrines Ms. Tanner uncovers for seekers of truth include the belief that the Mormon church is the only true church and that all others are false; that man is inherently good; that the God to whom they pray is but one of a series of gods who at one time were mortal, then progressed to godhood; that their Heavenly Father was once born a spirit child of a god and wife and at maturity, he was sent to another world and was born as a human where he married, died, was resurrected, went to heaven and became the God of our world. And he and his wife continue to birth children in their heavenly world.

Further, Ms. Tanner says that the Mormon man who is faithful to his religion, pays his tithes and attends the temple rituals can hope to progress toward becoming a god of another world, just like his Heavenly Father did, and continue to produce spiritual children. To the Mormon, "eternal life," which not all will have, is the ability to forever procreate and give life, producing millions of spirit children to inhabit the earths they will form.

Frankly, I don't think I can count on Mr. Romney's prayers to his god who is busy birthing spiritual babies on another planet — not while bin Laden is also busy birthing babies on our planet (12 to 24 physical children, according to Wikipedia) and countless spiritual progeny, all of whom hate us.

So, money or not, I'm going to have to say "no" to Mitt Romney. I'd rather count on the prayers of someone like Mike Huckabee; he prays to the same God the pilgrims prayed to. Money might move some conservative leaders, but it won't move the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob when the Philistines, Assyrians and Babylonians come after us with their nuclear warheads.